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Global support for Palestine’s causes is growing, even in Hollywood, where thousands of film workers have signed a pledge to boycott Israeli cinema organizations considered involved in the war in Gaza, and high-profile celebrities are supporting films that center the Palestinian lived reality.

Yet, Palestinian films still struggle to obtain distribution and gain exposure – even after a significant Academy Awards win last year. To highlight the Palestinian rich tradition of film-making, we asked prominent Palestinian film-makers and artists to share their top Palestinian-made films.

‘It Brought Me to Tears’: Mo Amer Reflects on All That’s Left Of You

Cherien Dabis’s movie All That’s Left of You, which debuted recently at Sundance, is a unique film, unflinching and unforgettable. By portraying the story of a one Palestinian clan, from its roots in pre-Nakba Jaffa through decades of displacement, it does not just tell a tale – it honors a heritage.

The cinematography are rich and transportive. Each scene feels purposeful, each image a recollection – the citrus orchards of Jaffa, the roads of Nablus, the isolation of displacement. The acting are unforgettable, highlighting the director’s extraordinary range alongside multiple generations of the Bakris – the group of performers most synonymous with Palestinian film. They are layered, restrained and deeply authentic.

What’s most impressive is how smoothly the movie moves between different eras without ever breaking its emotional throughline. Every period of the Palestinian story is brought to life with remarkable precision, both visually and in feeling. The filmmaking is skillful in that way, leading you through years with precision and sensitivity.

By the end, I was moved to tears. All That’s Left of You isn’t just about the past, it’s about the invisible manners it influences who we are. It’s a film that lingers – not because of spectacle, but because of truth.

• Mo Amer is a Palestinian-American performer and comedian and the maker of a popular Netflix show.

‘A Groundbreaking Masterpiece’: Cherien Dabis on Divine Intervention

A sunglasses-clad Palestinian female boldly walks through a security post. Israeli troops look on, weapons pointed, baffled. Her presence subdues them and brings the guard tower crashing down. It’s an memorable moment from Elia Suleiman’s Divine Intervention that has remained in my mind ever since I first saw the movie. I was a second-year postgraduate film student at Columbia University when it premiered in the US in the early 2000s. I recall being stunned by its power, its defiance, and its sheer audacity.

At a time when the majority of Palestinian cinema leaned toward the serious or tragic, the director carved a new path. Through dark humor, straight-faced performance, and almost silent storytelling, he captured the surreal absurdity of existence under military control. Portraying the film’s silent protagonist personally, he centered his own gaze at the heart of the story. That decision felt radical. His presence was calm and understated, which only magnified the stress all around him.

Divine Intervention is both deeply personal and politically charged. Its imagery is global, yet rooted in the divided existence of Palestinian identity. The filmmaker turns disconnection, displacement and resistance into something approaching poetry. The result is poignant, surreal, sometimes funny and consistently deeply truthful.

There was nothing similar to it in Palestinian film at the period. There still isn’t. It continues to be, for me, the most wildly original and imaginative Palestinian movie ever made.

• Cherien Dabis is a Palestinian American filmmaker, screenwriter, film producer and actor, whose most recent movie is an official submission for the Oscars.

‘A Remarkable New Voice’: Hany Abu Assad on To a Land Unknown

In my view, a outstanding movie needs to do two things. It needs to deliver an experience that’s new, emotional and smart. It needs to offer me something I’ve been missing – a point of view that contradicts my belief system, a way to consider issues beyond my own life, a window to a distinct time and location. In short, I need to feel enriched, emotionally and intellectually.

Second, it needs to impress me with its skill. A talent that is not focused trying to impress but is used to open my eyes to something more important.

The film To a Land Unknown, which was released last year, is precisely this type of film. Created by Mahdi Fleifel, it is a story about a pair of Palestinian friends searching for better lives as refugees in the country of Greece.

To a Land Unknown made me feel what it’s like to be a vulnerable refugee, in a strange country, where all factors works in opposition to your efforts to escape the slum. It demonstrated me that in certain situations, even when conditions outside your control work to hinder you, you personally can still become your own worst enemy. And its interplay between content and cinematic style astonished me in its artistry.

In To a Land Unknown, Palestine has found a gifted artist that will support its cause without shedding a single drop of blood.

• Hany Abu-Assad is a Palestinian Dutch filmmaker, writer and twice Academy Award contender for his acclaimed films.

‘Even Livestock Are Seen as a Danger’: Basel Adra on The Wanted 18

Among my favorite Palestinian movies is The Wanted 18. It tells the narrative of Palestinian people in the village of Beit Sahour, a town near Bethlehem in the West Bank, during the initial uprising of the 1980s. It documents their effort to {